Hi again,

I sympathise with you on this. I have just driven another 500 miles to Luxembourg on my way to The Alps and i still have the droning sound from the front wheels, and this is after I have switched to Pirelli winter tyres. It comes at 70-90 miles/h and disappears thereafter. It changes dramatically with the surface you are driving on. It does not change whether you load the tyre or not by turning from side to side. I put this down to the 22' wheels as I have now eliminated the tyres. You can get used to the sound but it is inconvenient.

Sometimes it can be turbulence caused by airflow from stuff like mud-flaps, the air deflectors in front of the wheels vibrating, or the airdam etc. You could try putting 'gaffer' tape vertically across these surfaces and see if it changes the sound.

On some cars the under-trays can also flex at high speed setting up a drone that's transmitted through the car.

You need to check any bit of plastic shrouding just in case!

Sometimes an overtight drive belt can set up a drone/hum - it might be wise to check (or get your dealer to) the ancillary drive belt tension or even the timing belt.

^^^^ should have added... at the speeds you mentioned it could be that a wheel is very slightly out of axial balance - check and see if a weights come off.

I have now done another 500 km to Austria and can report the following. The droning noise occurs between 70-90 mph but ceases thereafter. There are no other observations such as steering judder or judder under breaking etc. I drove long stretches flat out 140/150 mph and the car was rock solid. A real revaluation. The engine is superb and makes a wonderful noise at full throttle. There is an awful warning sound coming up when you hit the top speed limiter at 150 mph so you don't want to hot that too often.
I think the noise must have to do with some resonance which is generated at 70-90 mph by the 22" wheels. They look great but I would not spec them again.

Took their other same spec as mine out today and it made the same noise. So it's not just mine.

I did notice it is considerably worse on certain roads than others. But can be heard all round in general.

It actually humms over the radio even when turned up. It can't be hidden with loud radio.

No other option for mr really than to just accept its a characteristic of the vehicle specked to same as mine. Which is a MASSIVE shame as puts a big downer on the car for long journeys.

Doldy

As you can see I have pretty much arrived at the same conclusion. The only thing that is still outstanding is to switch to a 21 inch wheel. That will probably solve the issue.

Yes, they did say it only seems to happen on the ones with the 22" wheels.

Shame really..

This is really starting to concern me now.

We have an SDV6 Autobiography on order and at the moment it has 22 inch Style 6 wheels. I really like the look of the vehicle on the 22s.

Reading this thread again from the start it seems that not all owners are effected.

So what style wheels do you have and do they or not make the noise. Is it just HSE or HSE Dynamics or just Autobiographys?

Do different Tyres make a difference?

Is it both TDV6/SDV6 and SC?

If it is the wheel itself then why does it not come from the back as well. If it is the wheels I seem to remember some 21 Forged wheels in the 2014.5 configurator. They may be a better bet.

Please post up your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks.

Graham.

Owner in waiting.

Last edited by Disco on Fri Dec 20 2013 9:18pm. Edited 2 times in total

My AB is the SDV6, and the tyre noise on 22" wheels is quite acceptable, but as I have mentioned before on the coarse tarmac with the chippings, then you do hear some noise, but on smooth tarmac it is really ok. Yesterday I had an 80 mile round trip on the motorway at speeds of 70 ish and then maybe a little more, but there was no increase in tyre noise in that band. Several years ago I had an Audi Estate with 35 profile tyres and the tyre noise was awful so much that I couldn't wait to get rid!
I suppose it maybe depends on what you've been driving before, as with 22" wheels there's going to be a drone on the poorer tarmac. I was a bit concerned ref this before I collected the car, but having changed from a D4 which had 255/50s, the difference in road noise is there, but to me it's not that noticeable...if you thought about the tyre noise you'd notice it, but if you didn't think about it then you wouldn't. I'm a bit finicky ref suspension and tyre noise (which is why I changed an earlier RRS tyres from 40 profile to 45 profile to good effect), but in this set up, I'd be quite happy to go again on 22" wheels on a future replacement. But, I'm sure with 21" wheels with a deeper profile there's going to be a reduction in noise, and a slightly softer ride.

Thanks for that, you seem less affected than most, so thanks.

We have a Disco 2 with 255/55 18 General Grabber AT2 and a Focus RS with 245/35/19 with Mich super sport. both are quiet vocal shall we say.

The HSE Dynamic we drove had the 21s and no unusual noises.

My advice would be to go for the 21" wheels. Which is a shame as they look the on the 22"s i think.

My LR dealer said it won't be the last i will hear on the subject and LR are looking seriously into it..

It does actually seem to be worse on certain roads, but on those certain roads mine is dreadful.

Other than the wheel noise, and the useless sat nav.. you will be blown away with your purchase ! They are amazing vehicles..

Thanks for that. Yes very much looking forward to Easter next year.

Regarding the wheels, I have until early March to change the order, so we may hear from LR by then/hope to hear from them.

You are dead right on the 22s, the car just looks right, even one of the designers has said as much, so they always knew 22s would be fitted and not just the aftermarket.

Will watch this thread with much interest.

I will be sure to post any updates too, and continue to badger LR until they have a solution for anyone with the problem..

Have the timed climate ordered as well, thanks for confirming that as good buy.

You WILL NOT regret that one, mines warming up the car as we speak haha!

Make sure you get the remote one though !